Our Calling & Commitments

Our Calling

We are a church family called in love to share in and be shaped by Christ our hope

As Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God lives in an eternal fellowship of love. In short, God is love. In overflowing love
God the Father calls us in the Son and by his Spirit to be adopted children in his family. Together, as adopted
brothers and sisters, we are called to share in Jesus‟ loving relationship with the Father and to share in all of the
benefits of this eternal relationship. As we abide in this loving relationship we are shaped in the image of Jesus
Christ to be faithful and obedient children, bearing witness to God‟s love in the world.
Romans 1:1-7, Ephesians 1:3-5, Romans 8:28-29, Galatians 4:4-7, Ephesians 2:17-22, John 14:20-21

Our Commitments:

These commitments are relational intentions which distinguish the family of God as we enter in and respond to our calling

Prayerfulness

Because God in Christ shares his life of love with us, we are committed to continuously remain in his love

Prayer is being with God who is always with us. This means that prayer is not merely an occasional act, but rather a way of life. As a church family we are committed to embracing this prayerful way of life together. Prayer is our first commitment as a church family, because it is the primary means by which we embrace our calling and it is the posture in which we seek to move forward in all of our commitments.Matthew 6:5-13, John 15:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Ephesians 6:18

Wisdom

Because God in Christ shares his life of love with us, we are committed to cherish and discern the truth in love

To know and embrace truth we must seek the wisdom of God. True wisdom is found in the person of Jesus
Christ. He is the truth. To share in Christ is to share in his wisdom. As we abide in loving relationship with him we
are shaped into the kind of family that cherishes and discerns the truth in love. As such we are committed to live life
well, relating to God, our neighbor and all of creation in truth and love. Our authoritative Word of Jesus for living
well in the world is Holy Scripture.
Proverbs 2, Proverbs 8, John 16:13-14, Colossians 2:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 3:13-18

Compassion

Because God in Christ shares his life of love with us, we are committed to move toward the poor, the marginalized, and the broken in love

Because God in Christ shares his life of love with us, we are committed to move toward the poor, the marginalized, and the broken in love. As a church family we are committed to love because God first loved us. Compassion is love in action. It is the concrete expression of children who are abiding in God‟s love prayerfully and seeking to walk in his way of wisdom. God has called us to move towards others in love, and in particular to move towards the poor, marginalized and broken. This move toward the poor, marginalized and broken entails sacrificial solidarity as it is a call to suffer with them. As a church family we are committed to compassion both locally and globally.
Matthew 25:35, Luke 4:18, Luke 14:12-24, Philippians 2:5-8, James 1:27, James 2:1-7, 1 John 4:7-21

Reconciliation

Because God in Christ shares his life of love with us, we are committed to pursue relationships defined by repentance and forgiveness for the sake of love

God has reconciled us to right relationship with himself in and through Jesus. We are no longer strangers and aliens, but adopted children in the household of God. As adopted children we are joined to a family of brothers and sisters in Christ. It is not our gender, our age, our class or our ethnicity that most fundamentally defines who we are, but rather our identity in Christ, which is shared together. As a result, we are committed to unity in Christ. This unity is none the less marked by genuine diversity. Thus, a pursuit of unity demands a commitment to reconciliation. As a church family we are committed to move toward one another in love by embracing the relational virtues of forgiveness and repentance.
Matthew 6:12, Romans 5:10-11, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Ephesians 2:11-22, Galatians 3:26-29